Nighttime Fears
by theypreferthetermpeople
Summary: Young Brandon crawls into bed with his moms one night when he is unable to sleep. He is plenty comfortable in the safe embrace of Mommy and Lena, but they sure aren't! Inspired by 2x2, when Stef and Brandon discuss his childhood sleeping habits.


Brandon sighed and rolled over again. This bed still felt all funny and stiff and new, even though he had had it for almost six months now. And six months was a long time when you were five. But he missed his old bed in his old room at his old house - not the apartment where he and Mommy had lived during the separation, which smelled funny all the time, but the old apartment where he had lived with Mommy _and_ Daddy. He liked this new house. It was enormous, with a million rooms and a big backyard with a tree. It was a whole real house, not just an apartment, and he loved living here with Mommy and Lena. But at night, when Mommy and Lena were asleep, the giant house went from spacious and exciting to empty and scary. It made different noises than his old apartments had, and sometimes the stairs creaked like someone was walking up them even though no one was. Lena always told him that he could come to their room whenever he got scared, but lately it felt like he was scared every night. He lay silently for a little while longer, listening to the strange sounds, staring at his green ceiling. They had let him pick whatever color he wanted to paint his room, and he had chosen green even though he kind of wanted blue, because Lena called him "Little Boy Blue." But he decided on green because he was scared the blue would make it feel like he was swimming and sometimes he might not want to be swimming.

Finally, after what seemed like eons, he gave up on trying to fall asleep and climbed out of bed. The nightlight in the bathroom illuminated the hall as he padded across the carpet to Mommy and Lena's room, where their door was closed. He paused for half a second and then knocked, like Lena had taught him. He heard a mumble from inside and decided that meant come in, so he opened the door and made his way to Mommy's side of the big bed.

"Mommy," he whispered, except he wasn't so good at whispering yet, so it was more like a really small yell. "I can't sleep."

Mommy rubbed at her eyes and pushed herself up. "B?"

"I can't sleep," he repeated.

Beside her, Lena rolled over and murmured, "What's up, babe?"

"Brandon," Mommy replied, and then turned back to him. "What's wrong babe?"

"The house makes funny noises," he explained, twisting his fingers into the bottom of his pajama shirt.

Lena leaned on her elbow to peer around Mommy. "You want to sleep with us, Little Boy Blue?" she asked, her voice gentle. Brandon nodded, giving Mommy his best begging face. Sometimes she got frustrated cuz she wanted to sleep with just Lena, but he hoped tonight wouldn't be one of those nights. He didn't want to go back to his room.

"Climb in, bud," Mommy said, scooting over a little to make a space for him at the edge of the bed.

Brandon grinned and put his hands on the mattress, launching himself up. Mommy caught him under the armpits and helped pull him all the way onto the bed. But Brandon didn't nestle into the space she had created for him. Instead, he crawled over her, sticking a knee directly into her kidney and an elbow dangerously close to her breast, until he could cuddle into the tight spot between her and Lena. Lena held the covers back for him and kissed his forehead once he was settled. Mommy rolled over and kissed him too, putting one arm across his body like a shield.

"You think you can sleep now?" she asked, giving his tummy a little rub. Brandon considered for a moment, tilting his head adorably to one side. Lena and Mommy, unbeknownst to him, made eye contact above him and exchanged smiles. He was thinking far too hard about such a simple question, one of the many endearing and annoying traits of their little boy.

"No," he replied finally, shaking his head. "I need a story first."

Mommy laughed. "Oh do you?" she asked, but it was the kind of question Brandon wasn't supposed to answer. Lena, though, put an arm over him too, on top of Mommy's.

"Okay, baby," she agreed. "You close your eyes and listen, okay?" Then she kept talking, all about a beautiful and magical land where the wind whistled just so and the sun was always shining.

Brandon opened his eyes to interject, "Sometimes it gets hot when it's too sunny." Mommy shushed him and Lena went on.

"There were big fields and all kinds of people and animals, even magic ones like unicorns and centaurs."

"What's a centaur?"

"It's a person who has a horse body," she explained, and then kept going. This land sounded wonderful, and Brandon wanted to ask if they could go there, but he wasn't supposed to interrupt.

Lena talked and talked until his body felt calm and safe, and little by little, he fell asleep. After his breathing had evened out, Lena let her story trail off.

"You're an angel," Stef informed her, giving her hand a squeeze. "I love you."

"Love you too," Lena replied, and then she kissed Brandon's sleepy head again. "Love you too, Little Boy Blue."

* * *

Stef was rudely awoken by a blow to the cheek. She put her hands up to ward off the attack, and caught a tiny foot. With a groan, she opened her eyes. Hints of daylight were just starting to stream through the window. It couldn't be more than 5:30, she thought as she rubbed her face. The foot she was not already holding connected with her skull, and she scooted over to evade the kicks. Brandon, who had fallen asleep docile as can be between her and Lena around 10pm, was now stretched out with his head bent at a weird angle, shoulders pressed into Lena's abdomen, and feet inches from Stef's face. "Charming," Stef muttered, rolling over so her back was to her son and partner. Maybe this way she could get back to sleep.

Fate was not on Stef's team this morning, though, because the fresh beams of sunlight came directly through the window into her eyes, and facing that direction was not going to cut it. She turned again, pushing herself up on her elbow and surveying the scene. Alright, B was still totally out - a fact for which she silently thanked the universe. She peeled back the blankets, which had mercifully remained over her the entire night for once, and grabbed her son's legs. Shifting his body over one half at a time, she finally settled him back into a normal, parallel position. The bed reset, she closed her eyes and drifted off again.


End file.
